A Chinese container vessel, the Dubai Tower, departed the eastern port city of Ningbo on the evening of Aug. 15 bound for Europe via the Arctic's Northern Sea Route, which Sea Legend, the operating company, has introduced as a new weekly service that it says halves shipment times compared to the Suez Canal.
Chinese container ship sails Arctic route to Europe in new weekly service
A Chinese container vessel, the Dubai Tower, departed the eastern port city of Ningbo on the evening of Aug. 15 bound for Europe via the Arctic's Northern Sea Route, which Sea Legend, the operating company, has introduced as a new weekly service that it says halves shipment times compared to the Suez Canal.
According to a timetable published by Sea Legend, the Dubai Tower will pass through the Bering Strait and then travel west along Russia's northern coast, arriving at Felixstowe in the United Kingdom on Sept. 7, with subsequent stops in Hamburg, Germany and Gdynia, Poland later that same week.
The Northern Sea Route is accessible only during the period of the year when ice melts sufficiently to permit transits without icebreakers. It also allows vessels to bypass the Red Sea, where shipping has been targeted by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Global shipping has been heavily disrupted by conflict in the Middle East, according to the source.
Other shipping companies have used the Arctic passage previously. Denmark's Maersk was the first to do so in 2018. In 2025, 23 container ships transited the route, up from 15 in 2024, according to shipping analysis by business insurer Allianz Commercial.
Major shipping companies including France's CMA CGM, Switzerland-headquartered MSC and Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd have pledged to avoid Arctic trans-shipment routes. China has outlined plans for greater access to the region through what it describes as a 'Polar Silk Road'.
- The source does not state Sea Legend's own position or response to environmental concerns about the route.
- The source does not specify how the claim that the Northern Sea Route cuts shipment times 'in half' is calculated or compared against which specific Suez Canal transit time.
- The source does not state the cargo type or volume carried by the Dubai Tower on this voyage.
- The source does not identify which environmental groups issued the warnings.
- The source does not state what analysts or organizations are cited in support of the claim about the Arctic's future importance as a trade route.
- The source does not establish whether Russian authorities have formally approved or have any role in the weekly service.
Read the original at The Straits Times